Forbes lifts Lanka high

*End of conflict opens door for reconstruction and development

*Sri Lanka only second to India in South Asia

The Forbes magazine has ranked Sri Lanka high in its list of best countries to do business.

Sri Lanka ranks above China (90th), Philippines (91st), Russia (97th) and many of the South American nations. Being at the 83rd place, Sri Lanka is second only to India (77th) in South Asia.

“President Rajapaksa’s re-election in 2010 means that the Government of Sri Lanka will likely continue its more statist economic approach, that seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service,” the Forbes magazine pointed out.

The end of the 26-year conflict with the LTTE has opened the door for reconstruction and development projects in the North and East, it added.

Forbes also pointed out that the end of the war and the IMF loan restored investors’ confidence. “The Sri Lankan stock market gained over 100 percent in 2009, one of the best performing markets in the world.

“Official foreign reserves improved to more than $5 billion by November 2009, providing over six months of imports cover,” Forbes said.

Despite the war, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average nearly five percent in the last 10 years, Forbes stated. “Government spending on development and fighting the LTTE drove GDP growth to around six to seven percent per year in 2006-08. Growth was 3.5 percent in 2009, still high despite the world recession,” Forbes said adding “Sri Lanka’s most dynamic sectors are now food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking”.

The Forbes magazine categorized 128 nations on the basis of property rights, technology, corruption, personal freedom, red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.

Denmark tops the list, followed by Hong Kong in the second place, New Zealand in third, Canada in fourth and Singapore in the fifth place.

Out of the 128 countries listed, Forbes ranks Pakistan at 92nd place while Bangladesh at 109th and Vietnam at 118th. Syria and Nepal are ranked at 120th and 104th places respectively. The US dropped from No 2 to No 9 in the latest Forbes rankings for Best Countries for Business. Blame the high tax burden and a poor showing on trade and monetary freedom compared with many other developed nations, the Magazine stated. The World Economic Forum recently upgraded Sri Lanka’s global competitiveness ranking from 79th to 62nd place among 139 nations for 2010-2011. Sri Lanka is second only to India in the South Asian region in this regard.